by Emeka Obasi Let me sound like General Muhammadu Buhari whose take away statement after he was sworn in as president in 2015 was : ‘I belong to nobody, I belong to everybody’. I am not a politician but my association with politicians taught me a lot. My dad belonged to the Nigerian Peoples Party in the Second Republic and rose to the position of Local Government Chairman under Dee Sam Mbakwe. When President Shehu Shagari visited Imo State, I could read his body language. The president respected Mbakwe. I have watched keenly, President Bola Tinubu’s heir, Seyi. What I…

by Prince Charles Dickson PhD Every generation of Nigerian politics likes to imagine that its quarrel is unprecedented, that its betrayals are original, that its intrigue is wearing a crown no earlier intrigue ever touched. But Nigerian politics is an old drummer. It changes songs, not rhythm. The names change. The costumes improve. The microphones get better. Yet the same questions keep returning like harmattan dust: What is opposition for? Is it a moral force, a strategic waiting room, or merely a branch office of the ruling instinct? To ask that question seriously is to walk back into the haunted…

by Melanie Lidman and Nicole Winfield TEL AVIV, Israel  — Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate a private Mass on the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday for the first time in centuries, setting off a wave of criticism from the United States and others. Jerusalem’s major holy sites, including the church, are closed because of the ongoing Iran war, as the city has come under frequent fire from Iranian missiles. The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem called the police decision “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” It prevented two of the…

by Jeff Amy ATLANTA  — With Democrats steadily wiping out Republicans electorally in the core Atlanta counties of swing-state Georgia, Republicans have a new idea: Make most local candidates run for office without party labels. The Republican-majority Georgia House on Friday gave final passage to a bill that would require nonpartisan elections in the five most populous counties in metro Atlanta. Among officials affected would be Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whom Republicans have repeatedly targeted because of her prosecution of Republican President Donald Trump after he pushed to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s key win in Georgia in 2020.…

by Nicole Winfield ROME  — Pope Leo XIV said Sunday that God doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence, as he prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to his insistence that God is the “king of peace” who rejects violence. “Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one…

by Doug Ferguson Tiger Woods got out of jail and into the passenger seat of a dark SUV, his face as vacant as his mug shot as he was driven away to a future again filled with so much uncertainty. The next step legally is facing charges of driving while intoxicated, damage to property and refusal to submit to a urine test, which led to him spending eight hours Friday in the Martin County jail some 15 miles from his home on Jupiter Island, Florida. His manager at Excel Sports, Mark Steinberg, did not respond to a request for comment…

by Ope Adetayo LAGOS, Nigeria — Lagos taxi driver Adegbola Isaac went to the gas station twice last weekend. Each time, the price in the Nigerian city had climbed further and hit 1,350 naira ($0.99) per liter, a nearly 35% increase since the Iran war started. That’s wiped out most of his daily profit. “It is hitting hard,” Isaac told The Associated Press. Like many people across the world, Isaac is one of millions across Africa who are reeling from the economic impacts of the faraway conflict in the Middle East, which began Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on…

by Cody Jackson and Doug Ferguson JUPITER ISLAND, Fla.  — Tiger Woods was released on bail late Friday, hours after his Land Rover clipped a truck, rolled onto its side and the golfer was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, officials said. Woods had been traveling at “high speeds” on a residential road and after the crash showed “signs of impairment,” Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said, adding that investigators believe he had taken some kind of medication or drug. He described Woods as lethargic and said he agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of…

by Steve Karnowski ST. PAUL, Minn.  — Organizers of Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across the countryare predicting that the protests against the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration could add up to one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history, with Minnesota taking center stage. Organizers say more than 3,100 events have been registered in all 50 states, with more than 9 million people expected to participate. And they’ve designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul as the national flagship event, in recognition of how the state where federal agents fatally shot two people who…

by Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick WASHINGTON  — The Senate early Friday morning approved Homeland Securityfunds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other agencies, but not the immigration enforcement operations at the heart of the budget impassethat has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously without a roll call, next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday. “We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then we’ll go from there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.…